


It pays the bills

by TheyCallMeBol



Series: This Must Be The Place [11]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Denial of Feelings, Keith's delivers pizza, Lance works at retail and is Tired, M/M, Mutual Pining, Unreliable Narrator, accompanied with, kind of lame but I tried, not really relevant but mentioned, shitty customers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 22:38:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11000472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheyCallMeBol/pseuds/TheyCallMeBol
Summary: College sucked. Working at Target sucked as well. That neighbor he didn't-have-crush-on delivering him pizza? Didn't suck at all.Or: five times Lance was working and one he wasn't.





	It pays the bills

**Author's Note:**

> Hii!!  
> Can you believe I finished finals? ((((((((Because I can't))))))))))  
> Anywaysss  
> I have been doing small drabbles to vent or something and managed to connect everything!  
> I hope you like this!!

1-

‘’Lance!’’

‘’Coming!’’ he shouted back. He almost- (totally) dropped the box he was holding and run to his boss’ office. He was this old-buffed guy who didn’t accept he had long passed the forties and still dressed with sleeve-less t-shirt to show off his ‘guns’. You know who I’m talking about.

‘’Yes sir?’’

‘’What have I told you about running on the store?’’

‘’This is the warehouse-’’

‘’And about talking back?’’

‘’Sorry sir.’’ Lance said. ‘’Won’t happen again.’’

‘’Groovy. Super.’’ _We are in 2017??_ ‘’Now clean my office and close the store when you finish. You are in charge this time. Don’t fuck it up, dig it?’’ Sendak set the keys on his table and left, closing the door with much more force than really necessary.

Lance hated his boss.

Lance despised his workplace.

All those fantasies about flirting with customers? Gone to the ‘’Things Hollywood lied you about’’ list he started when he moved to USA. Most of his customers were people twice his age, and on the rare occasions they weren’t, they were: a)Rude teenagers that didn’t even say ‘hello’ or ‘thank you’ (where are fucking manners this days?) b)Busy people that didn’t spare him a second look.

What Lance didn’t absolutely hated about his job? Closing the store. It was actually kind of really fucking fun.

The first thing he would do was sit on Sendak's chair and spin a couple times. If he was with one of his co-workers they would take turns pushing each other all over the store.

Today he was alone, so he spinned in solitude and tried to imitate his boss voice and say the dumbest stuff he could come up with.

‘’C’mon Lance, fix the bulb already I can’t take proper ‘Facebook photos’ with this light’’ ‘’Put more strength on your handshake, Lance.’’ ‘’What is so good about that song by the Kardashians?’’ ‘’C’mon everybody look at my green elastic-waist pants .’’ ‘’C’mon Lance if you don’t hurry up I’m going to miss Jeopardy tonight.’’ ‘’Polos never go old-fashioned, Lance.’’ ‘’’What’s the thing with avocados?!’’,  and his absolutely favourite: ‘’Stop thinking you are the bee's knees, Lance."

When he got bored he plugged his phone on the loudspeakers and blasted his ‘Killin’ it’ playlist and the fun started.

He closed the store windows and turned Pharrel Williams up.

He was in the middle of his duo with the mop when his phone ranged.

‘’Yeah?’’

 _‘’Are you still at work?’’_ Keith asked on the other side.

‘’Depends.’’

_‘’Depends on what.’’_

‘’Dunno. Depends who ask.’’

_‘’I ask.’’_

‘’I didn’t hear ‘please’.’’

_‘’I didn’t get to ask you anything yet!’’_

‘’So you are not askin-’’

_‘’Lance for the love of God-’’_

‘’Okay, okay, jeez. What do you want?’’

_‘’A new over toilet, a hammer, a bag of nails-’’_

‘’Hold the phone, what?’’ Lance turn the music off. ‘’What happened?’’

_‘’My bathroom just fell on me.’’_

‘’What did you do?’’

_‘’Oh my god. Why does everybody assumes it’s my fault? Nobody, ‘oh Keith, that sounds awful, are you okay?’’_

‘’Hunk would say that.’’

_‘’That’s why I need Hunk’s phone number.’’_

‘’Are you okay, thought?’’

 _‘’I am. Thank you for your concern. See. That’s what a good person does!’’_ Keith shouted to somebody.

‘’Who are you talking to?’’

 _‘’My brother is on skype. He thinks he can repair my bathroom from a distance with mom powers or something. Yes Shiro, I said mom powers.’’_ Keith stopped talking. _‘’That’s exactly what I’m trying! Lance can you pick that stuff for me, please? I’ll pay you.’’_

‘’Sure thing. Text me with everything you need.’’

_‘’Thank you.’’_

‘’Special Target delivery for the worst hairdo on the city, possibly on the country.’’

_‘’Just come here already.’’_

 

Luckily, Hollywood hadn’t lied about the ‘Hot Neighbor’ trope.

\------

2-

 

Lance was a people person. That’s why he had thought he would be okay in a job with customers and all the junk. _Young, naive, sweet past Lance. What the fuck have you done?_ he used to think when the ‘Asshole of the Week’ had made it’s appearance on a _monday_ and snatched the last champion’s title with a new level of stupidity.

‘’No, sir.’’ Lance repeated for what felt like the hundredth time, because the customer was always right. ( _Except they weren’t_ ). ‘’We don’t sell this product on pistachio color.’’

‘’But I saw it on the add.’’ the man insisted.

Lance couldn’t help the sigh.

‘’Maybe it wasn’t pistachio-’’

‘’Look, kid.’’ the man said, and had the audacity to look _exhausted_ of something. ‘’My daughter said she wanted this boots on pistachio, whatever that is. And my little girl will have the pistachio boots.’’

‘’But we don’t sell that product on that color, sir.’’ Lance said with a false, extremely false, apologetic smile. ‘’I’m afraid we just have that model on this colors.’’

Lance lifted the palette of colors for the fifth time and prayed to the all the gods out there the man would understand.

‘’And what I am supposed to say to Lilly?!’’

_I don’t fucking know? Do I look like a parental figure to you? Maybe teach your daughter a lesson about how hard is life and buy some normal boots?_

Instead he said:

‘’I’m sorry, but I don’t know, sir. I could show you the catalog?’’

 

(16:53) We have a new winner of the ‘Asshole of the week’ title.

_(16:56) Really?_

_(16:56) It’s literally just Monday?_

(17:04) I KNOW RIGHT

_(17:06) Who dared to take the title away from ‘But I read on the internet I could buy a snake here!’?_

(17:09) Good and ol’ ‘My little girl wants her cowboy pistachio boots and Imma buy’em’.

_(17:12) Cowboy pistachio boots…?_

(17:15) Yeah, those that doesn’t exist.

_(17:18) I bet you a dinner they do exist._

(17:25) Smooth, smooth, keithy

(17:26) Are you trying to go out with me;)?

_(17:27) Attached image._

_(17:27) I want that lasagne Hunk made you yesterday and you spent the whole fucking day bragging about._

(17:30) I knew I should have eaten all while I could

_(17:34) ;)_

 

\------

3-

 

Other times it was even better.

‘’Do you think this suits me?’’

Lance stopped on his track, holding _three_ boxes _full_ of clothes, which, contrary to popular belief, weighted a fucking ton.

‘’Pardon, Ma’am?’’ Lance asked, a polite smile on his face.

‘’This skirt. Do you think it fits me?’’

Lance looked at the woman for a minute. She was on her late twenties, tall and broad, and not a model, but she was on her healthy weight.

‘’I think it looks nice, Ma’am.’’ he said sincerely.

She looked down at her belly. It was a pencil skirt, and it showed a little of it because it was tight.

‘’Don’t you think it makes me look fat?’’ she asked tugging the skirt.

‘’Nah.’’ Lance said, lifting his leg a little to hold the boxes’ weight and rest his arms. ‘’I think you look fine.’’

‘’But in the picture it doesn’t look like this.’’ she turned a little looking at herself on the mirror and then pointed at the advert on one of the clothing sections.

‘’Well, she is a model-’’

‘’So you are saying I’m fat.’’

‘’No, no!’’ Lance left the boxes on the floor quickly. ‘’I meant that photo has tons of photoshop and-’’

‘’So you say that you use photoshop and misleading advertising-’’

‘’What? No-’’ Lance tried to stop her raising his hands.

‘’And how do you think that kind of adds makes us feel?! I feel like I’m a seal or something-’’

‘’Ma’am, those are just standard adds. And it’s shitty because not everybody can possibly look like the models in them. C’mon! I have like ten zits and I take care of this stuff-!’’ Lance looked at the wide-eyed woman and coughed on his hand. ‘’What I meant is that, you look awesome on that skirt. You should buy it.’’

‘’You really think so?’’ the woman said turning a little more. ‘’My mother used to tell me I couldn’t wear tight clothes because I was overweight.’’

‘’Nonsense.’’ Lance said. ‘’Free country. Wear whatever you want.’’

‘’Uhm.’’ she seemed to be thinking about it. ‘’Would you personally it give a go?’’

‘’Maybe not in that colour.’’ he said, taking a hand to his chin.

‘’What do you mean?’’ she asked.

‘’A navy one would definitely suit you more.’’

‘’You think so?’’

‘’Yeah, hold on, I’ll grab one for you. What size?’’

The woman face scrunched and she started blabbering until Lance got it under control again.

 

(13:21) How are you supposed to feel when you spend over thirty minutes convincing a customer to buy something and getting yelled, and in the end they don’t even buy it, and then your fucking boss tells you off for being ‘goofing’ around and why the fuck do I work here again?

_(13:22) Chinese food and Sharknado at my place for dinner?_

(13:22) Have I already told you how much I love that mullet of yours?

_(13:23) Only in a passive-aggressive way._

_(13:26) I knew you had a thing for my hair, tho_

\------

4-

 

On one of those awesome fridays when the stars aligned and  he got the good shift so he could enjoy the afternoon and he was almost on his way home, and old lady approached him.

‘’Excuse me, boy.’’ Boy. Boy? What was he, five? Hello? Twenty one years old _man_ here?

‘’Yes, Ma’am?’’ he answered politely. ‘’Can I help you?’’

‘’Yes, darling. I have lost my grandson.’’

_Of course you have._

‘’What a shame.’’ he said before he could stop. At the look on the woman’s face he continued quickly. ‘’And we are about to do something to fix it! C’mon we’ll make an announcement on the loudspeakers.’’

He leaded the woman to one of the cash registers and grabbed a microphone.

‘’Description?’’ he asked her.

‘’Uhm?’’ she answered. ( _What a answer_ ).

‘’I need a description of your grandson to make the announcement.’’ Lance said biting his lip a little.

‘’Oh.’’ she said. ‘’He is about five years old and blond. Cute and with big eyes.’’

_Extremely helpful._

‘’Okay, got it. How about the clothes he is wearing?’’

‘’Oh, I don’t remember.’’ she answered.

‘’Uh…’’ Lance blinked a couple of times and looked at the microphone. ‘’I- I need a little something to look for him.’’

‘’He is called Tyler.’’

‘’Algo es algo.’’ (Better than nothing) Lance muttered. ‘’Hello? Tyler? Your grandma is looking for you on the registers. Number eight.’’

He hung up and looked at the woman, who was looking at him expectantly as if he would take Tyler out of his shirt and say ‘Ta-dah!’ or something.

He coughed and took the microphone again. ‘’Hey dear customers, if you see a little blond kid about five years old could you please take him to the registers?’’

He hung up again and waited for a couple minutes. Obviously nobody was doing his job for him, so he just sighed and excused himself from the lady, and started looking for damn Tyler all over the store. He took the phone out a second to confirm that, _effectively_ , his shift had ended five minutes ago.

 

(15:05) Can you believe I’m still here AND looking for a lost child?

_(15:05) Stop texting and find the child?_

(15:05) Keith, I’m pissed comfort me

_(15:05) Lance, find the fucking child_

 

‘’Excuse me sir?’’ someone said.

Lance lifted his head from the phone to find a little kid tugging at his shirt.

‘’Uhm,’’ Lance said, ever the talker. ‘’Tyler?’’

 _No Lance, he is obviously Sponge Bob._ Lance kneeled down and smiled, encouraging the kid to talk.

‘’I dunno where is my granny.’’ he said.

‘’We are about to fix that, buddy.’’ he offered his hand to the kid and guided him to his granny.

Guess who wasn’t at the register number eight.

\------

5-

 

‘’And then he said ‘Lance, bring me one of those avocado toast!’’’

The whole group erupted in laughter while Lance kept explaining the story.

‘’I swear Sendak is alien.’’ one of his coworkers said.

‘’You bet.’’ Lance answered. ‘’Straight from the worst 80’s films.’’

‘’Or from the most evil race you can find.’’

‘’I guess he even has evil alien henchmans.’’

‘’That makes us the henchmans-’’

‘’No,no, listen. We pretend to be with him, but in the end, we are double agents who will overthrow him!’’

A couple of knocks interrupted them. Their blood froze and they stared at each other.

‘’Yes…?’’ Jessica, older of them asked.

A guy opened the door, _a guy without the uniform_ , and just said: ‘’I gotta pee.’’

The group looked at each other and blinked a couple times. Meanwhile, the customer tried to do something and stumbled to the door, holding himself.

‘’Man,’’ Lance said, incredulous. ‘’Are you drunk?’’

‘’Your mom is drunk.’’ the guy muttered.

Jessica stood. ‘’The bathroom is for staff only.’’

‘’But Imma pee-!’’ the guy said and rolled his eyes.

‘’I’m sorry-’’

‘’It’s fine Jess, I got this.’’ Lance said and walked to the guy. ‘’I’ll take you to the bathroom, you pee, and leave, got it?’’

The guy mumbled something and Lance leaded him to the bathroom.

He waited outside and fished his phone from his pocket.

 

(16:08) Guess what I’m doing

(16:08) I mean

(16:08) Is not like you can

(16:09) But try.

_(16:09) You finally played that prank on your boss?_

_(16:10) Forget it you don’t have the guts_

_(16:10) Someone just got clingy on you and started crying about a breakup?_

(16:11) No and

(16:11) I do have the guts!

(16:12) I’ll do it one day!

_(16:13) Sure you will_

 

‘’Dude, are you done-?’’ Lance was interrupted but the sound of puking and- _no fucking way._ ‘’Maaaan that’s so gross!’’

‘’I’m sorry…’’ the guy answered. ‘’I’m so wasted…’’

Lance knocked and opened the door. The guy was ‘sitting’ on the floor looking like the most pathetic thing like he had ever seen.

‘’What even happened, dude?’’ Lance asked, sitting, too. (About four feet apart, but still.)

‘’My girl just dumped me.’’ he said. _Fuck you, Keith._

‘’Oh. That’s rough buddy.’’ Lance answered, mentally slapping himself.

‘’She was such a babe.’’ the guy continued. ‘’She has beyoncé’s ass I swear…’’

‘’Nobody has Beyoncè’s ass.’’ Lance muttered and the guy lifted an eyebrow.

‘’She listened to Beyoncé all the time.’’ he said, his lips twitching.

_He’s ten seconds away from start crying on me, isn’t he?_

Lance hated being right sometimes.

\------

+1

 

Lance opened his door, _fucking finally_ and entered his house walking like a normal person (read: not running, or dragging his feet like a zombie). He ignored his couch and table full of books, empty bowls of something barely edible, flashcards, highlighters and general shit and when straight to his bedroom to flop down in bed and groan.

Finals had kicked his ass. He had kicked finals’ asses? _Too tired to compute._

On top of that, Sendak had literally made him go to three fucking shifts that week, even though Lance has asked politely _two weeks prior_ for permission to miss said shifts. But his boss had apparently just decided he would ignore everything Lance said.

He was complaining about this and running over everything he would say to Sendak’s ugly face when he quitted, when he fell asleep.

 His own stomach woke him up, nearly three hours after he had arrived. He groaned and his stomach answered him growling.

‘’But I’m too tired to cook.’’ he said.

His stomach complained again.

‘’But I don’t even have food here. I ate everything this fucking morning at four am!’’

 _I don’t fucking care??_ his body supplied growling for a last time.

Lance rubbed a hand over his face and tried to think. Key word here: try. His brain was still in the Gauges theories and particle physics.

 

(19:05) Are you working? I think I want pizza but will it be weird if you have to deliver it to me?

_(19:06) Not as long as you tip me._

(19:06) I guess that will depend on the quality of your service.

_(19:08) Don’t order then._

 

He knew Keith was not having a good week so far, or month. He couldn’t get by with his actual job and he didn’t want to ask for money to his brother, or something. He hadn’t exactly told Lance a lot.

Lance thought about it. He tried to remember if he knew somebody who knew somebody who was looking for somebody to work for something. _Think, goddamit._

 

(19:10) You should be happy. You can like use your own bathroom if you need to. I’ll tip you. Just don’t expect too much. I work at Target. Not exactly wealthy.

_(19:11) I know_

_(19:12) You don’t have to tip me._

(19:12) I said it would depend on the quality of your service, didn’t I?

(19:13) Anyway. A BBQ pizza with extra of that cheese Shay knows I love, please.

_(19:14) I’m pretty sure you have to call and all that_

 

Lance grinned to himself and dialed Keith, who picked it in a second.

‘’If you wanted to listen to my voice so bad you could have just told me.’’ he teased.

_‘’I’ll be there in twenty minutes, I have to deliver something first.’’_

‘’Okay sure. As long as my pizza isn’t dead cold-’’

 _‘’How was physics?’’_ Keith asked, voice a little muffled by the sound of the kitchen-action.

That was something new. Not necessarily bad, though. They bickered, joked, Lance complained about his job, finals, rent and life in general. Keith asking him about his exams and remembering what the exam was about was another territory. A good territory.

‘’I nailed it, obviously.’’ he answered.

 _‘’Yeah? Congrats then.’’_ Keith said something to somebody. _‘’I have to go. See you.’’_

‘’Bye.’’ Lance said to a dead line.

 

Lance had twenty minutes to make his house look more like an habitable place and less like a sleep-deprived-student cave, have a really quick shower and mask the ‘i have not cleaned in two weeks’ smell of his apartment with enough air freshener to open another hole in the ozone layer.

 

True to his word, Keith was there just in time. Lance opened the door with a standard pick-up line and Keith just took the pizza box to the kitchen and started taking some plates.

They were talking, confortable and all until Lance had to open his big fat mouth and mention the tip.

‘’How much do I owe you, then?’’

Keith looked at him and frowned. ‘’I said it was a joke. I don’t expect you to tip me Lance.’’

‘’Well yeah, but you have to give your boss something-’’

‘’My treat.’’ Keith said quickly.

‘’Nah, here.’’ Lance said opening his wallet. He stopped when Keith’s hands where on his closing the wallet. ‘’I insist.’’

‘’And I insist as well. You can pay next time.’’

Lance bit his lower lip.

‘’I know you are not getting by lately and-’’

‘’Is that what all this is about?’’ Keith said, defensively. ‘’I can pay for a fucking pizza, Lance. I can pay for my stuff. I’m an adult-’’

‘’Well yeah, I just wanted to help-’’

‘’Is not helping.’’ Keith muttered and Lance closed his mouth.

Keith took a bite of his slice and chewed on silence. Lance sighed and let his head fall on the couch.

‘’Do you feel like listening to something?’’ he asked after few minutes of silence.

‘’What?’’

‘’It feels like I haven’t played in ages.’’ he said getting up and going to his room.

Lance took his guitar and sat on the floor. Even when Keith said he sucked every time he played or sang, he knew the boy liked it. The way his eyes lighted up couldn’t be faked.

After a couple of songs and bad imitations he got Keith to stop brooding and start smiling (or trying to hide a smile Lance definitely was seeing), which was a win in his book.

When his fingertips started to hurt Lance set the guitar aside and dropped his head on the couch.

‘’You still mad?’’ he asked.

‘’I wasn’t mad.’’

‘’You kind of were.’’ he said punching Keith’s knee a lightly. ‘’I didn’t mean you are incapable of paying for your stuff or anything, just-’’

‘’I know.’’ Keith said. ‘’I’m just stressed. I know you just wanted to help. Thanks.’’

‘’You are welcome.’’ Lance said smiling. ‘’I have been thinking about it, by the way.’’

‘’About what?’’

‘’A job. I have to know someone who is looking for employees.’’

‘’Oh.’’ Keith said. ‘’I already got another job.’’

‘’What?’’ Lance asked, surprised.

‘’I just got it this week.’’ Keith said. ‘’At a dojo.’’

‘’A what now?’’ Lance said sitting still.

‘’A dojo. You know, martial arts stuff.’’

‘’I know what a dojo is. Since when do you know martial arts?!’’

‘’Since Shiro took me.’’ Keith said shrugging. ‘’I start working this Monday with some newbie kids.’’

‘’Such a badass, mullet.’’ Lance said smiling. ‘’You’ll probably scare the kids, though.’’

‘’I’m good with kids.’’

‘’You are good with kids my ass.’’ he said, quirking an eyebrow. ‘’ _I_ ’m good with kids.’’

Keith snorted.

‘’There is a lot of things you don't know about me, Lance.’’ Keith said smirking.

Lance decided to wisely ignore the warm feeling inside his chest at the sight of his neighbor and said:

‘’Well, I want to.’’

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!  
> I hope you enjoyed it :DD


End file.
